Reclining chair



Oct. 15, 1940. M. LICHTER 2,217,756

RECLINING CHAIR Filed Oct. 29, 193B ATTORNEY;

Patented Oct. 15, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RECLINING CHAIR Max Lichter, Los Angcles, Calif.

Application October 29, 1938, Serial No. 237,773

3 Claims.

The present invention has relation to chairs and particularly to chairs which may be,tilted into any desired angle of inclination by the person occupying the chair.

It is the object of the invention to provide. a simple and inexpensive chair of pleasing appearance and of comfort. To this end, the invention resides in the combinations hereinafter fully described and illustrated in the appended drawing, of which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a chair embodying the invention, with a portion of the frame work and of the upholstery broken away in order to expose the more important parts of the invention,

Fig. 2 is a substantially corresponding View with additonal parts broken away for the sake of clearness, and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary rear elevation, partly in section, of a corner of the device illustrated in the foregoing views.

The chair of the invention may be an ordinary easy chair, with or without arms, but having front and rear legs as usual, the rear legs being peculiarly constructed in order to make the chair reclinable.

As shown in the drawing, the rear legs each comprise a base section I, which is upwardly arched to provide a convex portion which serves as a track 2, upon which the upper section 3' is seated to slide between end stops 4, 5. A plate 6 is by screws! shown mounted on the base section 1 and a screw, or bolt 8, of the upper section, is shown seated in an arched perforation of this plate- The purpose of this plate combination is to retain the chair in position on the base sections, so that it will not come apart when it is moved about or lifted off the fioor.

The chair combination above described, while not occupied, may readily be tilted to any desired angle within the limits provided by the end stops 4 and 5 by a person standing at the chair, but it may not be so readily tilted by a person occupying the chair, due to friction between the intercontacting surfaces of the upper and lower leg sections.

It is, for this reason, necessary to provide means for reducing this friction, and this may be accomplished, as illustrated in the drawing, by sinking aligned grooves H], H into the intercontacting surfaces of a size to accommodate sets of balls 12. The depth of these grooves and the size of the balls should be calculated to raise the upper leg section 3 very slightly above the base section, and the perforation of the plates 1 should be slightly wider than the diameter of the bolt 8.

When these balls and the grooves Ill, II are properly proportioned, it is found that the chair may be readily tilted by a person occupying the chair, by bracing his feet against the floor and pushing the chair backward with his body, which is kept in an upward position and not leaning against the backrest of the chair. But it is also found that the chair becomes firmly locked in tilted position the moment the foot pressure is relieved and the body of the occupant is brought to rest against the back of the chair. This is due to the fact that the slight play between the bolt 8 and the perforation of the plate l makes it possible for the chair to rock slightly on the balls, to cause the rear corner 3 of the upper leg section, to come into contact with the convex track surface of the base section with the full force of the weight of the occupant.

Two balls are shown provided between the leg sections, but more may be added, if desired. Because of the curvature of the track grooves In, II, it is seen that the force of gravity tends to maintain the balls at the ends of the grooves but, if there is danger of the balls rolling together, it is a simple matter to introduce a suitable stop between the balls, substantially as indicated at l3.

I am aware that other reclinable chairs have been made, including convex-concave tracks, but such devices as have come to my attention have not possessed the features of easy rolling tilting movement and positive stopping by a person occupying the chair in response to simple body movements.

I claim:

1. A tiltable chair having front and rear legs, the latter being divided transversely on a circular arc to provide a relatively short upper section and a relatively long foot section, the arc of the latter terminating at each end in a shoulder limiting sliding movement of the upper section thereon, aligned circular grooves cut into both sections, and antifriction elements seated within said grooves. v

2. A tiltable chair having front and rear legs,

the latter being divided transversely on a circular arc to provide a relatively short upper section and a relatively long foot section, the arc of the latter terminating at each'end in a shoulder 50 limiting movement of the upper section thereon, aligned circular grooves in both sections, antifriction elements seated in said grooves, and means tying the two sections together.

3. A chair having front and rear legs, the

latter being divided transversely on a circular arc to provide a shorter upper section and a longer foot section, the arc of the latter terminating at each end in a shoulder limiting movement of the upper section thereon, aligned grooves in both sections, antifriotion elements in said grooves, a plate on one ie section having an arched slot aligned with said circular arcs, and a member on the other section seated in said slot to tie the two sections together.

MAX LIGHTER. 

